Maduka Okoye has capped a turbulent year with a major personal prize after being named Udinese’s best player for the 2025/26 season at the 26th Galà del Calcio Triveneto, Footynaija reports.
The Super Eagles goalkeeper will succeed Oumar Solet as Udinese’s recipient at the ceremony in Vicenza on October 12, per Udinese blog. It is an award that applauds the extraordinary route Okoye travelled to reclaim his place between the posts for Udinese.
Okoye missed Udinese’s opening six Serie A matches last term while serving a two-month suspension imposed by the FIGC Federal Tribunal. That ban came because of his involvement in the betting-related case stemming from Udinese’s 2-1 victory at Lazio on March 11, 2024.
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The tribunal cleared him of a sporting-fixing charge but sanctioned him for breaching the sporting principles of loyalty, fairness and probity. Udinese publicly backed the goalkeeper and stressed that the ruling excluded any sporting fraud.
The Nigeria international, however, responded to that setback in emphatic fashion. Once available, the 27-year-old reclaimed the starting position and finished the Serie A campaign with 30 appearances, 2,616 minutes and 10 clean sheets. He also made 81 saves as Udinese completed the season in 10th place.
Okoye transformed a campaign that began under the shadow of suspension into one in which he became Udinese’s first-choice goalkeeper and one of the club’s most important performers.
Okoye also returned to the Super Eagles in March 2026 after an international absence, starting the 2-1 friendly win over Iran.
